1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an entertainment system and method of communication.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Entertainment systems for receiving television programmes, often known as ‘set-top boxes’, typically comprise a receiver able to receive analogue or (more recently) digital television signals. These signals may be either freely accessible or only accessed via a subscription system, and may be broadcast in a number of different ways, including terrestrial radio signals, satellite radio signals, and cable.
The entertainment system may simply provide a received television programme for output to a display such as a television, either via a wireless or wired link or as an integral part of the display itself, but it may also provide means to record a received television programme, most commonly for digital television broadcasts on to a hard disk.
In addition, most broadcasters of programmes also broadcast electronic programme guide data, (EPG data), which provides schedules for broadcast programmes describing at what time and on what channel each programme will be shown. The entertainment system can use this EPG data to generate an electronic program guide or EPG for display to the user.
Since the EPG data typically comprises information for several hundred channels and for several days' viewing, the displayed EPG itself tends to only show a relevant subsection of this information, with the user then navigating through the EPG data for example by moving the displayed EPG subsection along time and channel axes. Thus ‘EPG data’ represents the electronic programme guide data received from the broadcaster, whilst ‘EPG’ represents the generated electronic programme guide interface presented to the user, which typically represents at any one time only a small portion of the EPG data, firstly in terms of the channels and times displayed in the EPG but also potentially also in terms of the data available in the EPG data in relation to a particular programme.
If the user selects an entry in the displayed EPG, the entertainment device can typically use the corresponding information in the EPG data to either switch to the programme, or schedule a recording of the programme, as applicable.
Thus referring to FIG. 1, a typical entertainment system for television programmes comprises a receiver/decoder 510 for receiving broadcast programmes and EPG data from an input 520 which is shown as an aerial, but could instead be a satellite dish or cable connection. EPG data is decoded from the received signal and sent to an EPG generator 530 (typically part of a more general user interface generator, not shown), whilst decoded programme data is sent to a picture generator 540 and may also be sent to a recorder 550.
In use, EPG display information may be sent from the EPG generator to the picture generator to display the EPG as some or all of the displayed image, which is then sent via output 560 to a display (not shown). Selected EPG data may also be sent to the receiver/decoder to control which selected programme is received and decoded, and similarly may be sent to the recorder to control which selected programme is to be recorded. In this case, when the recording becomes due, the recorder may similarly send the selected EPG data to the receiver/decoder to control which selected programme is received and decoded.
However, whilst such entertainment systems can provide a social activity, for example in public venues or to the extent that a family may view a programme together, the scope for broader social interaction via television programmes is currently limited.
The present invention is intended to mitigate the above limitation.